Gov. Amaechi And The Gossip Of Assassination

Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi

Does the president's power go beyond the Constitution? Many Nigerians of goodwill have asked the same question since the rumour mill had it that the security details to Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State might be withdrawn and he would be impeached and also go the road of his ancestors; all bothered on the baloney face-off they had.

If that was the case, are there governors in Europe and America who are opposed to the views of their presidents, yet there have never been such news or rumour of withdrawing their security details, impeaching and maiming them? Would we say because a governor who was opposed to the president went to prison and we should stop saying the truth whenever and wherever we perceive them so that we will not be thrown into prison? Can we henceforth scrutinize how a man was able to control and coordinate his immediate family and domestic affairs before taking the person to the podium for leadership?

When the Speaker of Rivers House of Assembly, Hon. Dan Amachree first raised this issue in no baby-bird manner, he was nearly intimidated, especially by the Czar of the police command in Rivers State, who had since the political imbroglio started in the state, have taken the position of the voice of Jacob, but the flesh of Esau.

The fear that was raised in the open letter Hon. Amachree addressed to President Goodluck Jonathan can explicate the indications of those engaged in the political fight against Amaechi; they do not want to keep him alive. It was however, bravo to Amachree for his foresighted in unraveling the supposedly hatchet plans of the political enemies of the governor.

The fears of the Speaker were that the political upsurge in the state has taken a different dimension due to the several meetings (he was credited as saying) that those behind his allegations were keeping in a neighbouring State and Abuja against the governor of Rivers State.

The situation is exacerbated with the planned release from detention, of 18 notable robbery and kidnap kingpins currently in custody to carry out this planned mayhem on the government officials and innocent citizens and residents of the state,' the Speaker had said.

This was coming on the hills when a source in the newspapers said that those the Speaker was accusing had withdrawn his security aides. The gossip continued: 'They have just withdrawn the security aides of the Speaker and when he raised that alarm about the plan to do that, we thought it was not true. As I speak with you, there are plans to withdraw the security aides of the governor as well. That will be done soon. Those that will be affected include the policemen, soldiers and men of the State Security Service attached to the governor, who is also the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors' Forum. Unless those planning it have a change of heart, the withdrawal could take place as early as this weekend.'

But whether the Force Public Relations Officer said that police were not aware of the information or not, is it imperative that everything should be taken as politics? While police said that no security operatives were withdrawn from those involved in the statement, it could suggest that Governor Amaechi and all those who enjoy security benefits should be mindful of those assigned to them so that the state can spare itself of the definition of who a traitor is.

It is annoying that all these are happening in Rivers State that just suffered severe security threats in the hands of militants in the recent past. And come to think of it, what has the presidency that was fingered is behind the fight against Amaechi done to the principal person whom they said that Amaechi wanted to be his Vice in the 2015 presidential elections which Jonathan is taking with the mind of a 'do-or-die' affair with some of his kinsmen and kinswomen fanning the embers of trouble for him and clattering the drums of war if their brother Jonathan is not re-elected?

We are yet to believe that Jonathan is a troublemaker, just at home. It has been said in many quarters that the president is just 'strong' where the South-South and South-East governors are, but cannot penetrate South-West governors, come to talk of Northern governors, no matter declaring State of Emergency in three states in the north due to insecurity.

It is wrong that the present government in Nigeria is only after right and wrong, and not about sense and nonsense. The later is preferable because no one is permanently right or wrong, but a person can make sense today and tomorrow make nonsense. This is the way of life. But Jonathan wants us to believe that might is right, but we are saying that sense is right, and nonsense is also right.

Whenever Governor Amaechi or anybody makes sense, we have to applaud the person; and whenever any person makes nonsense, we have to correct the person, instead of thinking that we make sense and others make nonsense. Why fight Amaechi! This fight is a case of sheer hatred oozing out from 'I'm right mindset' which has caused people and groups more troubles than they bargained.

No one should assassinate Governor Amaechi or anybody for whatever reason. He should not be impeached, either, except where found necessary and within the ambits of the law. What is expected of politicians is to assassinate poor road networks and decayed infrastructures and sundry that dot every corner of the federation, and not assassinate anybody due to complicating views.

If anybody is seeing this political embarrassing-situation in Rivers State as a matter of love lost between the presidency and the governor, that person is wrong. Governor Amaechi has said that there is no love lost between him and the President.

One state in the west was said to have many contrary beliefs against the Constitution which have made it look like a country of its own, yet Jonathan has not fought the governor of that state, who even was reported sometime that he wanted to Islamize the state in question. We do not like this show of abuse of power targeted against the governor and masses of Rivers State. Trouble is not the same as status quo.

Let Amaechi be and let Jonathan be! Let all the formal and informal agitators in this politics of deceit be with peace, and for each other. We are yet to know when it has become a crime that a person from South-South or South-East should not work with somebody from the north, as has been a speculation that Amaechi wanted to align with a northerner for the presidential election of 2015; although he had refuted this conception by the people. But if we must go by that, why are there many people who are not from the South-South working with Jonathan?

Odimegwu Onwumere, Poet/Author, is the Coordinator, Concerned Non-Indigenes In Rivers State (CONIRIV). Phone: +2348032552855 (OR) +2348057778358. Email: [email protected]